Marks of a Lion
by Sorrowryuu
Summary: During a fateful encounter with a majestic lion outside of Konoha, Naruto's life changes forever. Leaving Konoha forever he meets newfound friends and family, and forms a village. Yajuugakure, The Village Hidden in the Beast. Powerful/Naruto
1. Chapter 1

Hey people. I just started reading the manga +Anima and I thought it would be so cool if people in the shinobi world could use animalistic powers. So I spent days thinking about this and decided 'Yea, why not, It'll be a side project (or not) for me while killing my head for the next chapter for my other two stories.

"Kyuubi no Kitsune"- Normal Speech

"_Kyuubi no Kitsune"- Thought Speech_

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or +Anima. Masashi Kishimoto and Natsumi Mukai do, respectively. (I'd totally jump Senri if I did own +Anima though.)

--

It was October Tenth. A day which many people celebrated, a day which one child feared. It marked the day of the Kyuubi no Kitsune's defeat, the death of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato, and the birth of his son, Naruto, but few people knew that anyway.

In Konoha years later, hordes of people celebrated the Kyuubi's defeat with a festival; namely dubbed, The Kyuubi Festival. Men were sitting in bars drinking all types of alcoholic beverages. Women had knitting circles while talking about the courage of the Yondaime Hokage. While all this was happening, a young boy sat in a dirty alleyway alone.

His hair was a sunshine blond rarely seen in Konoha and he had cerulean colored eyes that put sapphires to shame. Three parallel whisker marks decorated the sides of his cheeks. He wore a black tee-shirt with a picture of a flame on it and green shorts. His name was Naruto. Naruto carefully stood up, cautious of making any sounds and tiptoed his way to his apartment.

On his way there he suddenly stopped. His eyes widened as his heart throbbed.

"_It feels like my heart's burning… Feels like somethings missing__… I feel__…sad?__"_

He put his hand over his heart and closed his eyes willing away the dull but fiery pain. A quick image of a large spectral crimson bird flew past his vision and disappeared as quickly as it appeared. He opened his eyes again and blinked.

"_What the- It's gone…? Where'd it go?"_

Naruto looked around hoping to see the bird again. While looking up at the sky he bumped into a drunken man. He muttered a quick 'sorry' and lowered his eyes when he realized the bird was not there anymore. He saw a foot coming from the corner from his eyes and jumped to the side to dodge it but he flew forward anyway and yelped as he crashed into another person. The man, a shinobi, screamed at him.

"You brat! How dare you attack me?! I'll give you a lesson you'll never forget!"

Naruto widened his eyes, "I'm sorry mister…I'm really sorry. It'll never happen again." He whimpered a bit while slowly backing up; not noticing he was backing right out of the huge gates of Konoha. The man smirked as he withdrew a few kunai from his holster and threw them.

"Demon, die!"

Naruto screamed as he was nicked by one and quickly turned around and ran into the surrounding forests of Konoha. He kept running until he came to a clearing. He fell to his knees and tried to catch his breath. His breath hitched as another image besieged his head. A quick flash of a young red headed girl smiling and the image was gone again.

"_Wh-What's wrong with me? This never happened to me before…an-and I feel like I should know that girl or something…"_

A low growl roused Naruto from his thoughts. A large beast with golden eyes was staring curiously at him. It was quite large with sharp fangs that could easily rend a person's arm useless. Naruto gasped silently.

"Lion…"

Naruto's eyes widened further as the lion stood up on its paws and padded towards him. He gasped once again as he realized that instead of the normal tawny fur a lion usually had, this lion's body was covered in a pure white snowy pelt.

"_So…beautiful…"_

He walked slowly towards the magnificent beast and lifted his arm. He smiled slightly as the large cat nudged his hand after smelling it. As he rushed his hand through the lion's large white mane he smiled widely. The grass behind slightly rustled but he didn't pay any attention to it.

In a quick instant, the white lion pushed him away and leaped forward pushing the shinobi that was sneaking up behind Naruto to the ground. The lion growled as he bit the Konoha shinobi on the arm nearly ripping the appendage off. The shinobi growled as he swept his kunai over the lion's stomach and kicked him of himself with a chakra infused kick. The white lion rolled and tumbled in front of Naruto. Naruto's eyes were filled with fear and sadness. Tears fell silently from his eyes as he tried to hug the large lion with his short arms. The shinobi smirked evilly.

"Demon, now you're crying? Hnn… Are you angry that you couldn't take the life of that cat, yourself? Pshh, now that we're not in Konoha, I'll kill you and blame your death on that piece of shit there and I'll be praised as a hero for killing the Demon!"

He kicked the lion on its side while talking. The lion coughed up blood as the kick penetrated his ribs. Naruto's eyes narrowed as all he could see was the lion, the white lion. He roared as he felt stronger than he ever felt before. He leaped forward intent on killing the shinobi in front of him. The shinobi widened his eyes in surprise as his throat was ripped out but still leaving one unspoken word lingering in the air.

"_DEMON…"_

--

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN NARUTO'S NOT IN HIS APARTMENT?!"

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, all but screamed at the Anbu standing in front of him. The Anbu slightly winced at the volume of the Hokage's voice. While the Sandaime gave the 'Why you should watch Naruto on his birthday' speech, the dog-faced Anbu entertained his own thoughts.

"_Goodness…That's probably the loudest Hokage-sama's been for years. He'll have a sore throat tomorrow if he keeps this up…"_

"…and that's why you should pay extraordinary attention to Naru- Inu? Inu?! ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"

"Hai, Hokage-sama. You know…last year when he wasn't in his apartment we found him in a alley, so you shouldn't get so agitated over this…You know…blood pressure…"

"_Blood pressure my ass; I just don't want to be the one to tell the rest of Konoha Hokage-sama died because of a heart attack which was connected to the failure of my mission to watch over a kid.."_

The Sandaime narrowed his eyes at the Anbu as he snapped his fingers. An Anbu appeared in front of him and next to Inu.

"Inu, Ushi, find Naruto! Dismissed."

The two Anbu nodded and disappeared in a 'swoosh' of wind and leaves leaving bunches of leaves on the floor. The Sandaime scowled as he stalked over to a closet and grabbed a broom and quickly brushed the leaves into a corner where many other leaves were.

"_Why can't they ever use the door?!"_

The Sandaime look up at the ceiling with worry evident in his wrinkled and weathered face. He glanced over at a framed photograph on the wall. The blond man in the photo was frowning. The Sandaime winced as he turned away.

"_I'm sorry, Minato."_

--

Tears trailed down Naruto's cheeks as he kneeled next to the nearly unmoving body of the white lion. The lion slowly reached his paws out towards Naruto with his claws outstretched. Naruto held onto the heavy paw with a sob breaking out. He loosened his grip and moved more closely to the still warm body of the lion. He gasped out in pain as the claws of the lion suddenly stabbed into his stomach. Red chakra flooded out and disappeared as the lion dug his claws deeper into the Shiki Fuujin seal which was now disappearing as well. The whisker marks on Naruto's cheeks slowly faded away to nothing. Naruto screamed loudly as intricate designs appeared on his arms up to his shoulders. Then suddenly the pain stopped. The white lion also stopped breathing. Naruto cried while wiping his tears away with arms. The bush behind him rustled. Naruto instinctively growled and spreaded out his claws.

"_Wait…WHAT?! Claws? Where? My hands?"_

As Naruto wondered about the absence of his hands, a young girl came out of the bushes. Naruto looked up and widened his eyes immediately recognizing the red haired girl. He whispered with incredulity in his voice.

"You…"

The girl look at him with her cobalt eyes and responded with a light but clear voice.

"+Anima."

--

Inu- Dog

Ushi- Bull

Sandaime Hokage- Third Fire Shadow

Shiki Fuujin- Dead Consuming Seal

How was that? Good? Bad? Tell me?! Direct your questions to me as well. I'll try to answer them to the best of my ability.

I had so much fun typing Sarutobi. I always wondered about where the leaves went when a shinobi used a shunshin. Well…now everyone knows. (In a corner of the Hokage's office.)

R&R

Ja ne


	2. Chapter 2

Second chapter up! Finally! I'm soo happy; I got an 82 on my Global History test! That's actually one of the reasons why I felt so motivated to update this…

"Kyuubi no Kitsune"- Normal Speech

'_Kyuubi no Kitsune'- Thought Speech_

Disclaimer- I do not own Naruto or +Anima. Masashi Kishimoto and Natsumi Mukai do, respectively. (I would love to own them both though!)

--

_Last time…_

--

The Sandaime look up at the ceiling with worry evident in his wrinkled and weathered face. He glanced over at a framed photograph on the wall. The blond man in the photo was frowning. The Sandaime winced as he turned away.

"_I'm sorry, Minato."_

--

Naruto looked up and widened his eyes immediately recognizing the red haired girl. He whispered with incredulity in his voice.

"You…"

The girl look at him with her cobalt eyes and responded with a light but clear voice.

"+Anima."

--

_And on with the story…_

--

Naruto gazed at her not believing his eyes.

"_It's…her…That girl…in my…visions…"_

"Who-Who are you? An-And what's a +Anima?"

Naruto clenched his claws scratching his palm while he questioned the red headed girl who appeared from behind the bushes. The girl looked at him with passively with cobalt eyes.

"My name does not matter, but I'll tell you that I am a fellow +Anima."

Naruto continued to look at her with suspicion and curiosity.

"Tell me what a +Anima is. You keep saying +Anima, +Anima, but I have no clue what you're talking about.

Cobalt eyes flashed with mirth as she stepped closer causing Naruto to step back. She held out her hand while tilting her head slightly.

"I would tell you but I'm not that good with explanations so I'll bring you to see someone else who can explain this better."

Naruto faintly furrowed his brow while staring at her hand as if expecting it to bite him. She quirked her eyebrow at him.

"What's taking so long? Come on, you aren't a chicken are you?"

"Aren't you afraid of me?" Naruto voice was tinged with surprise. "Everyone where I came from was afraid of or hated me."

"Really?" Her voice was gruff, "I don't think I can agree with them."

Naruto looked at her as his eyes implored her to continue. She nodded as she went on to elaborate.

"Well…I just saw you kill someone and seconds later you start crying like there was no end to it. The way you make it sound, it seems like the place thinks you're a demon or something or your parents were mass murdering maniacs or something of the sort." She put her hand over Naruto's heart. "You're too pure to be someone on the receiving end of hatred. The place where you came from is stupid; don't believe anything anyone tells you from there."

Naruto smiled as he cried.

"Th-thanks for telling me that. You do-don't know how much it means to me."

The girl smirked.

"I tell them as I see them. If you don't go killing millions of people, I have no reason to hate you. Now come on, let's go."

She sighed as she grabbed one of Naruto's sharp claws and pulled him away. Naruto looked back at the still body of the white lion and protested in a soft voice.

"But the lion…"

"It'll be fine," She held his claw tighter absentmindedly drawing blood from her own palm, "We'll be back later to give the poor guy a funeral anyway…"

Naruto nodded as he stepped closer to her proximity. They both ran in silence til the surrounding trees swallowed their images.

--

"Report."

The Sandaime's stern voice matched his face. It was now, the Anbu knew, that instead of the grandfatherly old man they had spoken with earlier, this was The Professor, the Hokage that had mastered all forms of shinobi combat and techniques in Konoha. They kneeled and reported with Inu speaking.

"We had searched all the places where the target had been in previous years without success."

Ushi spoke next.

"We could not find him. We have failed, Hokage-sama."

The Hokage's face now glared at the two Anbu as he released a wave of killing intent.

"_Oh my god…Hokage-sama's intent is still so powerful even in his old age. I don't think I can breath properly *gags*"_

At the sight of his two trembling and choking Anbu, Sarutobi rolled his eyes and lessened his killing intent.

"Search again. This time, also check the surrounding forest. Bring an Inuzuka with you. Dismissed!"

The Sandaime gave one last glare at the two Anbu and 'harrumphed' as they quickly bowed their heads respectively. They hastily opened the window and jumped out. The now open window invited in a strong breeze which blew the leaves out of the corner and the paperwork off his desk. Sarutobi groaned as he began to pick up the paperwork sparing a quick peek at the Yondaime Hokage's photograph. If it was possible, the blond Hokage seemed grumpier than before. Sarutobi rubbed his eyes and squinted at the photo. He blinked quickly.

"_I could have sworn that Minato's eyes narrowed a bit just now…"_

Sarutobi blinked again.

"_Maybe I should go get a pair of glasses. I swear I am seeing things…"_

--

Naruto and the red headed girl slowly walked into a large clearing with a large bonfire burning in the center. As they neared one of the many tents, a light brown haired boy ran towards them. He ignored Naruto in favor of barraging the girl with questions.

"Suzaku-sama, where have you been? It's dangerous around these parts and you could have easily gotten lost or-"

The now named Suzaku cut him off with a wave of her hand.

"You worry way too much, Shikyuu. I'm fine…"

The boy calmed down a bit and took notice of Naruto.

"Hey, who are you? I never saw you before in camp."

Naruto looked at the ground as he was put in the spotlight.

"I'm Naruto. And…Sukazu brought me here after something…happened…"

She rolled her eyes as Naruto spoke.

"Naruto, no one here is going to hurt you. Trust me. Oh, and call me Hyouko. Don't act that guy," She points at Shikyuu, "And Suzaku isn't even my real name." She turned towards Shikyuu and gestured to Naruto, "Answer Naruto's questions. I have to speak with Mukara for a moment."

She quickly walked away and entered a tent covered with designs of animals painted all over it. Shikyuu turned his head and smiled at Naruto. Now that he was closer, Naruto could see his features more clearly. Shikyuu had shoulder length light brown hair and glinting golden eyes. Black beads were woven in strands of his hair. He looked to be about the age of eight. Shikyuu smile grew wider.

"As you heard from Suzaku-sama, my name is Shikyuu. Nice to meet you Naruto."

"Nice to meet you, but do you think you can help me with…," Naruto paused, raising his claws, "These…?"

Shikyuu's golden eyes gleamed with excitement.

"You're a +Anima! What type of +Anima are you?"

At that instant, Naruto entire face defined confusion. Shikyuu smiled knowingly.

"Suzaku-sama didn't explain to you, right?" Shikyuu grumbled good-naturedly, "Sometimes she's too lazy for her own good…Anyways; the claws should be easy to deal with. Just think them away!"

"Errr…think them away…? What do you mean?"

Shikyuu sweatdropped.

"_Errr…Damn it! Why couldn't Suzaku-sama do this? Why does she have to do this to me?! I suck at teaching. I mean…I think them away and they go away…! What's there not to get?!" _

A flapping noise cut his thoughts. Shikyuu turned and smiled as Hyouko walked towards him and Naruto. Hyouko looked over at Naruto's claws before sighing loudly.

"Shikyuu…Why didn't you…?" She rolled her eyes as she took Naruto's arm in her hand. "Fine, I'll take care of it."

Hyouko shut her eyes as she focused. A slight red glow radiated around her hand. A bead of sweat rolled down her cheek as she loosened her grip after a minute. As she let arm hand fall to her side, she looked at Naruto curiously. Naruto was looking at his now normal arm and marveling at the tattoos on it. She placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Naruto? Are you alright?"

Naruto gazed at her in surprise.

"Yea, I'm fine. Something wrong, Hyouko?" Worry was present in his voice.

"No…Nothing you need to worry yourself with…" She turned to Shikyuu, who was still standing there. "Shikyuu, me and Naruto are going to speak with Mukara so you can go and do whatever you do now, alright?"

Shikyuu nodded and waved at Naruto before rushing into a small tent. Hyouko took Naruto's arm once again and headed towards the large tent that she exited before. Thoughts assaulted her head as she walked in a steady pace towards her destination.

"_What?! That's…weird…My chakra didn't harm him…? I'll ask Mukara-shi…He'll know…He always knows."_

She shook her head free of these thoughts as they stopped in front of the tent. She whispered to Naruto as they stopped.

"Be respectful and down let his old age fool you. Mukara-shi is a-"

"Suzaku-chan?" A deep voice rang out from the tent, "Come in and bring your friend with you."

Naruto looked at Hyouko with a surprised look on his face.

"How can he…?" Hyouko smiled a wryly and opened the tent's flap while pushing Naruto in. "But…"

A man sat near the center of the little space provided by the tent. A feather headdress adorned his head and swept back his long grey hair. A tattoo was visible under his currently closed left eye. He opened his clear grey eyes and smiled at the both of them.

"Hello Suzaku-chan, I'm glad to see you're back and safe. And who is your friend here?"

Hyouko poked Naruto in the arm and raised her eyebrows. Naruto quickly nodded and faced Mukara.

"My name is Naruto. It's nice to meet you…Mukara-shi?"

Naruto smiled a bit as he saw Hyouko nodding encouragingly. Mukara's eyes widened as he looked Naruto over.

"_What?! This child looks just like…that man…"_

Naruto gulped self-consciously Mukara's eyes locked onto his own. Mukara shook his head and shifted his gaze to Hyouko as he muttered under his breath.

"I could have guessed this would have happened eventually…Just didn't expect it to happen so soon…These two…How am I going to explain…?"

"Explain what?" Naruto blurted out.

"You heard me?" Mukara said with surprise lacing his voice. "An +Anima, I suppose?"

"Yup." Naruto nodded and sheepishly grinned. "But I still don't know what an +Anima is…"

Hyouko looked sheepishly to the side as Mukara chuckled deeply.

"Suzaku-chan…" Mukara looked back at Naruto. "Very well, I shall explain. Don't interrupt."

Naruto nodded as Mukara continued.

"In a basic sense, +Anima are humans that have gained the power of a particular animal. +Anima can morph parts of their body to a specific animal which is bounded to them. This goes back to ancient times; before there were shinobi, before there were the Kim-un-kur."

---

_A young man stood in a field with assorted flowers. His silver hair caressed his pale face. He took large gulps of air as he tried to catch his breath. Shouts could be heard behind him. A frightened look passed his face._

"_No…no…I can't…I won't…I WON'T DIE!" He shouted to the sky scaring away local animals. "Please…someone…help me. I…I…did nothing…" His shout lessened to a whisper._

_Nearby, hidden in the tall grass, laid a large female wolf. Intelligent eyes gleamed as the wolf listened to the man. _

'_This man-human…I remember this one. He is the one that rescued my pups when the hunter-humans came. He is… howling?'_

_An amused growl escaped her snout as she stood up and shook her body loosing the dirt that had accumulated there. Her eyes narrowed as a group people ran out of forest shouting loudly._

"_You deserve to die!"_

"_Useless and an extra mouth to feed. Kill him!"_

"_You bring nothing to us! Useless lump!"_

_The wolf twitched her ear at the big racket as a low rumble was heard from her chest. _

'_These humans…they have the audacity to come HERE? In MY territory? Where I rule supreme?! They…they…I will have their lives…Their blood…'_

_She howled as she rushed forward intent on taking the people on. The silver haired boy gasped in surprise as he was knocked to the ground. The she-wolf quickly ripped the throat out of one man but was stabbed by a pitchfork by another. She quickly backed up as blood was dripping out of her wound. The boy looked at the wolf with tears in his eyes as he shouted. _

"_Why? Why are you doing this? This wolf is innocent…Why?"_

_The men sneered._

"_It's meat. We can use it. That fur as well. I'd make a good blanket for my wife."_

_The boy ran to the wolf with tears falling. He hugged the wolf close to him and widened his eyes as he recognized the peculiar notched ear of the wolf._

"_NOOO!"_

_--_

_The silver haired boy looked around in surprised. _

'_Where am I? I surrounded by…white? What?! How? The wolf…"_

_He looked around noticing the large female wolf at his feet. He shook the wolf's shoulder tentatively. He quickly took his hand back as amber eyes were opened. _

"_Man-human…Where am I? Where is this…place?"_

"_I don't know…Wait…How…You talked…?"_

"_Foolish…All animals can talk. Humans just can't hear an animal's voice unless they're in trouble."_

"_Like how we're in trouble?"_

"_Listen foolish man-human, there is no 'we'. I was not fighting to protect you; I was fighting to defend my territory."_

"…_But…If we work together…I'm sure that we would be able to win…After all, with the intelligence of a human and the raw strength of an animal, I'm sure we'll prevail…Please…" He held out his hand. "Trust me…"_

_The wolf blinked and narrowed her eyes in suspicion. _

'_This man-human…Trust…him? But…I cannot sense any falsehood in his words.' She slowly lifted her paw. 'I…I will trust him…Like how I trusted him with the life of my pups.'_

_Her paw laid in his hand. He smiled with his slate grey eyes crinkling._

"_Your name, partner?"_

"_My name…remember it…" The wolf started to glowed brightly. "My name is Raishuutoka…!"_

"_Very well…" The boy smiled as the glow enveloped him as well. "I am Banittou, Raishuutoka…"_

_--_

_A large burst of light enveloped both Banittou and Raishuutoka. As the light started to disappear, a large shape was visibly growling. Dark grey fur covered its arms and legs. Two ears adorned the top of its head. A sprawling tattoo marked his chest. Sharp claws decorated its hands. Its tail was slowly swaying from side to side. The being smiled with his canines jutting out._

"_Die!"_

_The half-human half-wolf being leapt forward with is claws outstretched. He quickly ripped the throat out of one person and raked his claws across the belly of another. He howled in jubilation but stopped as he noticed the bloody mess around him. _

"_How…" He looked down at himself. "What…am I? Raishuutoka?"_

"_You killed them all…You proved your worth to me…As for what you are…I have never met something like us before…How about Human+Animal? It is what we are, Banittou."_

"_Human+Animal?" A short laugh was heard. "That's a bit long. How about +Anima? Short and catchy."_

"_+Anima…Yes…I like it…That is what we are."_

"_But…What do we do now? As much as I don't like to admit it…I…I've killed…I have blood on my hands…I can't return to the village."_

"_What do we do?" Raishuutoka sounded amused. "We will survive…"_

_As years passed by, a lone howl was always heard. It kept away unwanted people but it always seemed to sound inviting towards +Anima. _

_---_

"And that is how the Kim-un-kur came into being… Banittou and Raishuutoka… They are our relatives… They were the first +Anima."

Naruto listened with wide eyes while Hyouko had a slight smile on her face.

"That's so cool! So, Banittou and Raishuutoka…They were the first…"

"That's right, Naruto." Mukara nodded. "Do you have your +Anima powers under control?"

"Well…kind of…not really…" Naruto chuckled. "I had to get help from Hyouko to even get rid of my claws for a moment."

Hyouko looked on in amusement with her eyes flashing.

"Naruto…I don't think that was even your full hybrid transformation."

"Not my full transformation? What do you mean?"

"I mean that…I think there's more to that transformation that you haven't revealed yet. You should try and get your +Anima spirit to help you."

"My +Anima spirit? I can talk to my +Anima spirit?!"

"Obviously…" Hyouko laughed. "Banittou talked to Raishuutoka didn't he?"

"Well…yea…But how do I do that?"

"You meditate." Hyouko stated. "Your +Anima spirit will take care of the rest for you."

"But…"

"Come on, Naruto. Talk to the guy…Just learn his name or something."

"His name? What would his name be?"

Naruto suddenly felt faint and started to see white. He fell backwards as Hyouko looked worriedly at him. Before he lost conscious, he heard a single a word."

"_Shirokoro…"_

--

Suzaku- Phoenix

-shi- Chief

Kim-un-kur- An +Anima tribe

Raishuutoka- Attacking Shield (loosely)

Banittou- Evening Sword (literal)

Shirokoro- White Heart (loosely)

Whew…That was tiring. I just had this on my computer and I thought that I might as well finish it and post it up.

Alright people! If you have any ideas for your own +Anima OC or something, tell me. I'll choose the ones that I think are suitable for this fanfiction and those will be put under the vote of you, the readers!

Tell me the name, +Anima spirit, looks, personality, and any other things you think people should know about your OC. In the next few chapters, they will be put to vote.

Read and Review

Ja ne


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